Stepping Out of the Wardrobe
by Bella Marie Whitlock
Summary: From a time in history when gay was "not okay", Jasper and Peter have always hidden their relationship. Even going so far as to marry women to seem "normal". They live thousands of miles apart, only giving in to the mating pull once a week for a brief visit. But when Peter's wife meets her own mate in the form of one Bella Swan...the boys will be forced to admit their own reality.
1. Love, Lies, and Video Calls

**You're gonna want to make sure you're comfortable with ALL the letters in the rainbow for this one, Folks. This is a BLGTQIAP+ content story and we'll hopefully be touching on most, if not all, of those letters. So any haters are gonna want to refrain from raining on our parade, thanks!**

**Also, I moved the B to the front because Bisexuals, like moi, make up the largest percentage of the community by far. And for those who don't already know...bisexuality is **_**NOT**_ **a stopover on the way to something else. **

**It DOES NOT mean we are 'going through a phase', 'looking for attention', 'trying to get access to a larger dating pool' or are 'just too indecisive' to 'pick a side'.**

**For clarification: a Bisexual (as is commonly considered) is anyone who is capable of sexual attraction to both male and female, based, at least partially, on the sexual characteristics of those genders. In other words, if you notice a woman's breasts and a man's muscles, for example, and are aroused by those things, you ARE bisexual. **

**Whereas, if you don't give a rats ass what a person looks like and your sexual attractions are based solely on personality etc. then congrats on being an enlightened Pansexual. Some of us are somewhat more shallow than that ;-***

**Okay, I'm getting off my soapbox now, don't worry! Any more necessary rants, I will leave to the characters in the story to tackle :D **

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**Chapter One: Love, Lies and Video Calls**

"How was school, Big Brother?" Peter asks, his voice coming through my cellphone earbuds. I roll my eyes, which he can see because we are video chatting.

"You know I wish you wouldn't call me that. It makes it weirder than it has to be." I frown.

"All the Cullens are siblings, it isn't too weird for them." Pete presses. "Rose and Emmett...Edward and Alice."

I growl lightly. "Alice is _my wife._"

"Is that what you tell yourself while she's fuckin' Edward?" Pete grins.

"How would you feel? If Char had a mate who lived with you." I suggest, trying to make him understand this is a sensitive subject.

"If Char had a mate, _any _mate, I would shrug my shoulders, get in my Bronco, and start driving North to you. When the jig is up...the jig is up, Babe." He smirks.

I frown. "Don't call me _that _either. And I'm calling bullshit on this whole claim that you'd rush right up here. The last time I asked to stay _one extra day_ in Denver, you told me it was 'too suspicious'."

"Yeah well, Denver's not as progressive as fuckin' Seattle, now is it?" He replies, getting those little lines on his forehead where his brow furrows. I always want to smooth them out with kisses.

"I've offered that you could come here, " I remind him with a slight pout.

"Yeah, well...the entire population of Colorado combined is more liberal than one Edward Cullen, so I don't see _that_ happening. Hell, the man lets you stay married to his own mate, just so no one will start thinking his brother is a 'Sodomite'." Pete growls.

"Yeah, well, he's been a little...distracted lately." I frown.

"Huh? Why, what's going on?" Peter worries.

"He met his singer a couple of weeks ago. Managed not to drain her. Now he and Alice have started hanging out with her. Remember on Tuesday, when I told you there was an accident at school and he saved a stupid human girl and she'd been asking questions after that and I thought we should stage _another_ accident? Yeah, that was her, " I explain.

"Holy shit! But she was bleeding you said? His own singer bled in front of him and he didn't attack her? Now that is some staunch self-control, " Pete admires.

I look at him in silence for a moment. "Who do you think has been absorbing all his bloodlust for him? I can tell you it ain't the tooth fairy."

"Shit! Jasper, you shouldn't do that! That's too much for you to take on, " he insists gently, sounding very worried.

"I'm okay, Peter. I hunt twice as much now as I did before she got here and Edward makes sure he hunts right before he sees her, every time. So it isn't too bad. Besides, he'll probably lose interest in her soon, or even just do the smart thing and stop hanging out with her once he realizes she asks too many damn questions." I shrug. The added bloodlust is a burden, yes, but for the safety of my family, it's a burden I will gladly bear.

Besides...I owe Edward for him letting me play pretend with Alice.

"I wanna come up there to see for myself that you're okay. Please?" Peter insists.

"You really think you want to deal with the scrutiny that is Edward and his judgemental outlook?" I caution.

I would love nothing more than to have him here with me, but every time we try to get together here instead of at his place, Edward makes some sort of snide and hurtful remark.

Alice has tried talking to him for us, but then they just end up getting into an argument. And I don't really want to cause any more trouble for her, considering she already graciously endures our sham marriage and all it entails.

You'd think Edward would start to come around, given that this is the twenty-first century and there are plenty of gay kids at school who are "out" nowadays. I even see them kissing in the hallways and I get so envious, I just wanna rip their cute little gay heads off.

But no, he still has no capacity for tolerance, at least where we're concerned anyway. I think it's because he spends all his tolerance on Alice.

And I'm not just talking about the sham marriage thing, no. Alice is an extraordinary person. She happens to have what Edward and the medical world would unfairly refer to as a birth defect.

Alice is a member of the Intersex community. A group of marginalized, belittled, often abused individuals, who are treated as less than, because the biology of their bodies doesn't quite fit with the expected norm.

And yet, sadly, in some ways I envy them. In a world where people are not all accepting of others' differences, it is a little harder to hide who you love than it is to hide what you have between your legs.

And then you have people like Edward, who find it much easier to believe that God made Alice just the way she is, but yet have a huge problem with my "unnatural lifestyle".

I think Edward must read a very different Bible than I do. Because his copy seems to be missing the Gospels.

"There is no hell I wouldn't endure to make sure my mate is safe, Jasper. You know that. And I know you feel the same. It's one of the reasons we live the way we do," Peter insists.

That is certainly the truth. Edward Cullen isn't the only archaic vampire remnant of less tolerant times. There are many vampires who feel even more strongly about same-sex mates than he does. It's why we started hiding our relationship in the first place.

_When I was a soldier in Maria's army, before I found Peter, I took a lover from among the newborns. His name was Clark and he was a blonde Adonis. We were always very discreet, of course, as was the necessity of the time. But somehow, the other soldiers found out. Or maybe they just guessed. I'll never know for sure._

_Anyway, they waited until I was away on a reconnaissance mission to attack him. They ripped his limbs off and they beat him. For a long time. Then, just as they heard me returning, they torched him in front of me and I was too late to stop it. Of course, I slaughtered them all and Maria put me on probation. But that beautiful man lost his life because of me, and I damn sure wasn't going to allow that to happen to my mate once I found him._

_Peter and I kept our distance from each other, from the very beginning, because I told him what had happened and that it was too hard to keep a relationship like ours secret while living among so many other vampires with perfect hearing. We never even dared to consummate our bond back then out of fear._

_When Charlotte showed up, she was a Godsend. We figured out pretty quickly that she was harboring her own secret when I caught her making love with one of the other female newborns. Once we knew she could be trusted, we told her our predicament and she offered to help us escape._

_I knew that we'd never be safe if I tried to leave because Maria felt she needed my gift and would have hunted us to the ends of the earth. So I made Peter leave with Charlotte, and I promised I would join them, once it was safe to do so._

_I had finally found my opportunity by the time Peter and Charlotte came back to check on me. Maria had found another vampire whose gift she liked slightly better than mine, and I'd been working on pissing him off, hoping he'd give her an ultimatum and she'd send me away. It probably would have worked but when Pete came back and I finally saw him again, I couldn't wait any longer. I needed to be with him, so I left, in spite of my fear that she would come after us._

_She never did though, and we lived as nomads for a while, using Charlotte as our cover story whenever we would encounter other vampires. She would pretend to be Peter's wife and we manufactured paperwork accordingly._

_We weren't as careful around the humans though, because we didn't care what they thought since we were stronger and faster and they were our prey._

_That worked fine for a while, until a human who had seen us kissing in town one day, ended up getting turned into a vampire by another nomad. He told his sire about us, and they waited for an opportunity to catch one of us alone._

_One beautiful, rainy day, Charlotte and I went into town to buy some things for the house, but Pete didn't come because he was practicing his guitar._

_We got home just as they were dismembering him. Thankfully there was no pyre lit yet or I would have lost my mate that day. We torched them, but I was so shook, I knew that just being with me was putting Peter in danger. So a few weeks later, I had Char take him into town for the day and I left. I wrote him a note explaining and then I ran straight to the ocean and dove into the water so he couldn't follow my scent._

_After that, I never stayed in one place for more than a day or two at a time, in case he ever tried to use the mating pull to find me. It was a few years into that solitary, miserable life that I met Alice. She led me to the Cullens, knowing that her mate was there, and that there was safety in numbers, and also that the animal diet would be of benefit to me because of my gift._

_Then, once Edward found out about my "sickness" as he was calling it at the time...he offered to let me pretend that Alice was my wife, just as Pete had done with Charlotte._

_And once we had the safety of the Cullen coven and Alice's visions, it wasn't long before I went crawling back to Peter and begged his forgiveness. He was furious, of course, but still head-over-heels for me, just as I was for him. I gradually was able to earn back his trust but we decided it was still too dangerous for us to live together._

_Eventually, we established a routine. We'd see one another every Saturday and talk on the phone every day. Then when computers became popular, we would email. And then thankfully, the webcam was invented. And I'd never had to go more than a couple of days without seeing my mate's beautiful face ever since. It wasn't perfect, but it worked and I was terrified of rocking the boat._

And now, here was my mate, asking me to rock the boat. "Okay, but as soon as Edward says one single stupid thing, I'm sending you home."

"He won't. I'll bring Charlotte. Edward knows better than to talk like that in front of her because of that one time when she ripped his ear off for it." Pete promises.

"Okay, fine. Come and see me. I miss you like hell anyway, " I admit, giving in reluctantly.

"Thank you!" He beams. "We'll go hunt now and throw a few things into backpacks and then be on our way."

"Okay, but just so you know, that human girl might be here when you get here. She's supposed to be coming over to do homework with Alice, " I caution.

"Don't worry. I have our cover story _very _well memorize," he smirks.

"Just remember, she thinks Edward is single. I think she has a crush on him." I laugh.

"Wow, okay, we won't say anything to the contrary then. I'll see you soon, Lover," Pete states, knowing how much I abhor pet names.

"Bye Peter. See you soon." I sigh, wishing he was in my arms already.

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**AN: Shout Out to Zikare whose story, Kuiper Belt Object Reclassification gave me a pretty thorough education of all things Intersex, much better than any textbook ever could! **

**It will be explained in later chapters as to what Alice's specific intersex traits are, but just know, every Intersex person is different. There is no one size fits all.**


	2. Meeting the Human

**AN: Thanks to all who are open-minded enough to be checking this out! And especially those who are following and favouriting already! :-***

**Much thanks to, jsmith84, and catgrl, for reviewing Chapter One! ;-***

**I now give you Chapter Two!**

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**Chapter Two: Meeting The Human**

Once I get off my call with Peter, I am so antsy knowing he's on his way that I need to do something to take my mind off of the wait.

I decide to watch a movie. I choose an action movie and turn it up really loud so that I am forced to focus on it, instead of focusing on the sex sounds coming from Edward's room.

I can't really blame them. They'll be having to pretend they're not together the entire time Bella is over, so I understand they want to reconnect first. But hearing other people have sex always reminds me of the sex _I'm not_ having when Peter is always so far away. And it's even worse now that I know he's on his way because I feel so desperate and anxious and it's driving me crazy.

All too soon, the movie is over. I never thought I'd be thankful to hear the sound of that human's rusty truck door slamming, but at least when she arrives a few minutes after my movie ends, I know the sex noises will have to stop and I'll have something to distract me, since Alice will want me there when they greet Bella for appearances sake.

I shut off my TV and head downstairs, arriving first, since Edward and Alice apparently want to...ah hem, finish...before they come down (pun fully intended).

I open the door and smiling, I let Bella in.

"Hi, Bella. Edward and Alice will be down shortly. They just have to finish cleaning their rooms, or whatever, before they can entertain. Would you like something to drink while you wait?" I offer, knowing it's the polite thing to say.

"Um, yeah, please. Whatever you have is fine. I know your family is on a special diet. Edward told me that's why you don't eat cafeteria food." She says, though her emotions tell me she is very skeptical of that particular cover story.

"Perfect, how about water then? Healthiest thing for you." I smile, sending her some enthusiasm and contentment.

"Sounds great." She nods, although she is radiating a bit of surprise and a hint of suspicion so I decide I need to change the subject.

"So, Bella...Alice has been pretty excited to have a new friend. I hope you're not one of those fickle girls who is a friend one week and an enemy the next?" I challenge, sending her a bit playfulness so she doesn't get offended.

"Actually no. I'm the opposite. I don't give my friendship lightly. It's why I don't have very many good friends. But once I do...I never revoke it, come hell or high water," she speaks in all honesty. "Jasper...I know Alice has secrets. Possibly a lot of them. Edward too, for that matter. In fact, probably, your whole family does. But you know what? I don't care.

"Everybody on the planet has secrets, Jasper. And whatever yours are...I promise they could never scare me away from being friends with Alice or Edward or any of you. And I also promise I would never betray a friend's confidence, under any circumstances," Bella vows and by her emotions, I can tell that she genuinely means it.

Still, I decide a little test is in order. "In saying that everyone has secrets, it implies that you do as well. But you seem like a pretty straightforward person. It's hard to believe that you have any secrets, Bella," I challenge.

She takes a deep breath and seems to resign herself to something. "Oh I do, Jasper, believe me, I have several. Some of them I keep out of necessity. Like the fact that I'm about seventy-five percent sure that my dad is not my biological father. I could never tell him that because I know how much it would devastate him.

"And then I have other secrets that I only keep out of convenience. Like how most people don't know I'm bisexual. Or that I dated only girls in Phoenix because teenage boys tend to be very immature," she confesses.

_Holy fuck, I was not expecting that._

"I get that it's hard for your family to trust an outsider. Because based on what happened with Edward and the van, I'm fairly certain at least some of your secrets are supernatural. In fact, I'm pretty sure that Edward and Alice haven't come downstairs yet because they can hear everything I am saying from right where they are and are trying to be polite and not interrupt.

"But you need to know...the secret about my dad that I just told you, would destroy my family and ruin my life and my father's life if it ever got out. I told you that as a show of good faith because I want you to know I would never do anything to hurt your family.

"I don't drink alcohol, so I could never get drunk and accidentally blab. And I've broken enough bones due to sheer klutziness that I am used to pain, so I'm fairly certain I'd stand up well under torture, if anyone ever tried to get information out of me." She sighs, taking a moment to catch her breath and gather her thoughts.

"Anyway, I've said my piece. Alice, Edward, you can come down now." She smiles shyly.

And as if on cue, the doorbell rings.

"That's probably for me." I grin, forgetting about the rambling human in my excitement that my mate is finally here. I felt him getting closer and then while Bella was talking I heard them approach but I knew they could hear her and that Peter would wait until she finished her rant, which he did.

Edward and Alice come downstairs just as I am opening the door.

I am vaguely aware, out of the corner of my consciousness, that Alice is getting a vision. But Peter is finally standing in front of me. Seeing him and not attacking him with kisses seems like an insurmountable task which requires all of my focus.

As such, when I hug him (in a way that I hope looks platonic from Bella's standpoint) my attention is entirely on Peter. So much so that I barely register when Charlotte and Bella move toward each other.

I hardly notice when Edward, likely as a result of reading Alice's vision from her mind, tries to remove Bella from Charlotte's embrace and I am only brought back to my surroundings when I heard the loud crunch of Charlotte decapitating him with a snarl.

"Fuck off, Edward. You can have your head back when I say so!" She growls. _Oh shit!_

I send out a wave of calm to everyone in the room and move to sit down on the couch beside Charlotte and Bella. "What in the world just happened, Char?" I question, though not in an accusatory tone.

"He tried to take _my mate_ away from me." Char whimpers, still holding Bella in such a way that the human can't see what happened to Edward.

Bella doesn't seem to mind, though. She is snuggling into Char so intentionally that it looks like she's trying to burrow into her.

"He was reacting to a vision I had of you turning Bella, Charlotte." Alice frowns, trying to keep her wits and not go feral. She knows enough about my family to know that Char could've done a lot worse than just decapitate Edward had she wanted to.

I can tell that even though Alice's instincts are warring with her to avenge her mate, she knows it wouldn't help anything to start shit with Char over it. Edward is safe, though probably in a lot of pain. But he will recover.

"Of _course _I am gonna turn her! She's my mate! What else am I supposed to do? Leave her human and vulnerable? What kind of a mate would I be if I did that?" Charlotte frowned.

"You could at least have the decency to ask her first," Rose butts in as the rest of the family all filter into the room to see what the commotion is.

And so, Char carefully pulls Bella up so that she is sitting in Charlotte's lap looking into her eyes. "Hi, Sugar. I'm your mate. My name is Charlotte. I know you have no idea what's going on here, but please don't be scared, alright?" she coaxes.

Bella smiles radiantly. "Why would I be scared? You're like…'the one', right?"

Charlotte beams. "In human terms of thinking, that's essentially accurate. But for vampires, it's a lot more complicated than that."

"Vampires, huh?" Bella grins turning to face me. "I _knew_ there was a secret." She sticks her tongue out at me and turns back to Charlotte. "So...you want me to be like you? A vampire?"

"Yes. There isn't anything in the world I want more. Will you do it? Will you agree to spend forever with me?" Charlotte questions hopefully.

"I will, yes. Is Edward dead though? Because if you killed him, I think we might need to attend couples counseling." Bella frowns, though she doesn't still doesn't seem afraid.

"No, I only temporarily decapitated him. It's painful but once Alice re-attaches him, he'll be fine. He'll just have a ghastly new scar to show for it, that's all," Char assures her.

"Can I see him?" Bella asks.

"Of course. Just be prepared for him to essentially be a talking head." Char cautions.

Bella nods. "I've seen Stardust. I'll be fine. I don't smell any blood, so I'm guessing vampires don't bleed? Blood is the only thing that makes me squeamish."

"You're right, we have venom instead of blood," Char says, spinning Bella around in her lap so that she is facing Edward, who is now laid out in Alice's arms while she prepares to reattach him.

"Hi, Edward. I'm sorry you got your head torn off because of me. I hope you don't hate me now." Bella sighs.

"No, I could never hate you, Bella. Besides, it wasn't your fault," he assures her.

Alice begins using her venom to reattach Edward. Most of the time, the re-attachment process is excruciating if another vampire uses their venom, or just plain painful if you use your own. But when your mate uses their venom, it's actually a very sexual act.

Soon, Edward is moaning and we can all see his arousal straining through his trousers.

"Don't worry, Bella. That's normal when reattachment is performed by a mate. The sex receptors take over in place of the pain receptors." Charlotte assures her as Edward starts crying out in ecstasy.

_Dammit, Char! Way to blow our cover!_

Bella seems embarrassed for a moment and I start to hope that maybe she didn't even notice Charlotte's slip. Then her emotions turn to confusion. "Wait...are you saying Edward and _Alice _are mates? But Alice is with Jasper, right?"

"Sorry, Edward." Char sighs. "I was fine lying when I thought the human in question was just a plaything of yours but as it turns out, Bella is my mate. I won't lie to my mate. Not even for Peter and Jasper. I'm really sorry boys.

"Bella, Alice isn't Jasper's mate. She's his cover story. Just as I was always Peter's cover story. Jasper and Peter are mates. But they hide their relationship because of homophobic _assholes_ like Edward here, who aren't accepting of same-sex mating," She reluctantly explains.

I can tell she feels bad for outing us but I understand why she can't lie to Bella. There's no one I would be willing to lie to Peter for. You just don't lie to your mate.

Bella's emotions turn to surprise and then to hurt and embarrassment. "Edward? Is that true? You're _homophobic_? I thought you were my friend. But...I can't be friends with someone who can't accept me for who I am," she chokes, tears streaming down her face. Char holds her tightly, trying to console her. If Char didn't hate Edward before, she certainly will now for making her mate cry.

Alice, having finished reattaching Edward, attempts to smooth things over. Poor Alice, ever the optimist.

"Bella...you have to understand, Edward is from a time in history when it wasn't acceptable to be gay. He doesn't mean to be hurtful, he just has a hard time with it, that's all," she explains gently.

"Right, because we should never try to learn from history's mistakes? We should just keep repeating them? So I guess anti-Semitism and slavery and burning people at the stake are all cool too, right? Charlotte...can you take me home, please? I don't really have any desire to be here anymore." Bella sighs and her feelings read a mixture of disappointment, betrayal, and emotional exhaustion.

"Sure thing, Sug." Char nods. And the two of them head out to Bella's rustbucket.

"Well...that could have gone better." I frown.

"At least she doesn't care that we're vampires." Emmett grins, trying to put a positive spin on things.

"You know, Edward, I just hope for your sake that Alice hasn't lost a friend over this. I know I, for one, couldn't live with myself if I knew I had taken happiness away from Jasper." Peter frowns.

"But I don't even have anything against _Bella_! I didn't even _know_ she was bisexual!" Edward defends.

"Answer me this, Edward…if you _had _known, would you have still been friends with her?" Pete asks him.

"Of _course_ I would have! Jasper is a full-on _Sodomite_ and I haven't disowned _him_ yet!" Edward huffs.

"First of all, that word is highly offensive. Especially to me." Rose growls. "Do you even know what the crimes of the people of Sodom were, Edward? Sodom was a town full of rapists! They didn't care about the gender of their victims and they certainly weren't engaging in loving, consensual, same-sex relationships. If you are going to insist on using the Bible to justify your bigotry, you could at least be accurate about it," she states, her arms folded across her chest.

"And furthermore…" Peter begins, picking up right where Rose leaves off. "If your definition of 'friendship' is merely not disowning someone...that's setting the bar pretty low, don't you think? You're _not_ Jasper's friend, so don't you dare pretend to be. If everyone had friends like you, they wouldn't need enemies, that's for certain."

"Alright...I understand that everyone is angry. But please, try to remember all the _good things_ Edward has done?" Alice pleads and I can tell from her emotions how hard this is on her.

She doesn't agree with Edward's outlook anymore than the rest of us do, but still, he is her mate. And as much as he might be one of the villains in mine and Peter's story, I know he has always been the hero in hers.

Alice has faced a lot of discrimination, abuse, intolerance, and downright cruelty, being Intersex. Most of the time, nobody even knows. But occasionally there are times, at least in Alice's case, when it becomes obvious. Being a girl born with a fully functioning phallus of above-average size...generally requires a bit of a workaround.

She always has to be careful what she wears (one of the reasons she is so obsessed with fashion) and she has a permanent note excusing her from gym class. But even though Alice is very careful, there are times when someone accidentally finds out or just suspects. And at those times, Edward has always been her biggest defender.

I can remember multiple occasions when Edward has calmly and carefully put some inconsiderate, or even cruel, human in a headlock, making them piss themselves with fear over some remark that they made about Alice. It's one of Edward's more redeeming qualities, and I know his love and acceptance means the world to Alice. I just wish he had even a small fraction as much love and acceptance for Peter and me.

I send out a wave of calm to everyone. "Pete and I are gonna go hunt and then we'll go check on Bella and Charlotte," I offer, taking his hand in mine. "Come on, Peter, time to munch on some squirrels." I tease, leading him out of the house into the woods.

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**AN: I should mention that at any point in this story you have any questions, please feel free to PM me if you don't want to ask them in your review. **

**The purpose of this story is to educate, and while I don't claim to be an expert in any field, I will gladly answer what I can and do my best to find the answer if I don't already know it.**

**Hugs, Love and Blessings,**

**-BMW**


	3. Lonely Hearts Rejoicing

**AN: Hello Loves!**

**Thank you dearly to, catgrl, and jsmith84, for reviewing Chapter Two!**

**I'm thrilled and grateful people are reading, following, favouriting, and reviewing this!**

**Here comes Chapter Three!**

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**Chapter Three: Lonely Hearts Rejoicing**

Once Peter and I are out in the forest away from anyone else who might hear us, my lips are on his as if they never left. Kissing Peter feels as natural as breathing. It always has. If someone told me I had to choose between drinking blood, which sustains my physical life or kissing Peter, which nourishes my soul? I would most definitely be going without the blood.

Maybe it's partly that we only get to do this once a week. Or maybe it's just that I am so dang crazy for him that I can't even think straight. Either way, I know that if we hadn't already promised to check in on the girls, we wouldn't be coming up for 'air' for several hours.

As it stands, when I finally muster up enough willpower to break the kiss, I send him my emotions, so he knows that pulling away is the last thing I want to do.

"We told them we'd go see how the girls are doing, didn't we?" Pete remembers, clearly just as disappointed as I am that we have to wait to get physical.

"Unfortunately, yes." I sigh, kissing him chastely. "I Love You, Peter Whitlock. I know I don't say it enough," I profess, taking his hand in mine as we begin to walk through the woods under a canopy of lush green foliage.

He squeezes my hand affectionately. "You're saying it now, Babe. And that's what counts. I Love You, Jasper Whitlock, forever and ever."

I choose not to correct him on the pet name thing. It's something we've always argued about because he loves them and I loathe them. I think it's partly because when I don't let him call me Babe or Sexy or Handsome or whatever else, then he has to call me by my name, and the sound of my name on his lips always makes me go weak in the knees, every time.

We walk in silence until we come to the cozy little house at the edge of the treeline, where Bella and her father live. "It's awfully quiet. I half expected to hear sex sounds." I laugh.

"A little _too_ quiet? I wonder if they're even here?" Pete questions as we walk toward the house. Thankfully the police cruiser that belongs to Bella's father is absent. Charlie Swan is the Chief of Police in the little town of Forks, Washington. He's a nice enough man, but it still makes it a whole lot easier for us that he is at work.

"We're up here, Boys. In Bella's room. But I think something's wrong, Jasper, I could use your expertise." Charlotte calls down to us.

_My expertise? Geez, I hope they're not having sex, because I don't have _any _expertise in regards to girl sex._

We hop up into the room through the open window and what I see surprises me. "What's wrong with her? She looks like she's asleep, but she's in a terrible amount of pain. If I didn't know any better, I'd think she was…"

"Changing?" Char finishes for me. "She _is_, Jasper. That's why I need your help! I don't know what to make of it. She isn't screaming. She isn't thrashing. She hasn't made a peep! Did I do it wrong? Did I break her?" Charlotte worries.

"No, I think you did alright. Other than the agony, she doesn't seem to be in distress. Her heart rate is steady and strong. Her emotions are a mixture. In addition to the pain, there is also love for you, excitement, and anticipation. I think she's gonna be fine, Charlotte.

"What I can't figure out though, is why you'd initiate her change without letting anyone know. I know you don't think we owe the Cullens any loyalty because of Edward, but even still, you could have at least told Pete and me first. I know she's your mate, and as such, her change was inevitable.

"But you could have considered letting her graduate high school or even just saying goodbye to her father, who happens to be the police chief if you didn't notice. And I can tell you, that is going to make it a little more challenging to fake her death. Not to mention this breaks the treaty the Cullens have with the local tribe, who turn into giant, vampire-hunting wolves, Char." I frown, reminding her.

"Actually, you don't have to worry about her father, Jasper. I promised her I'd turn him too. She was worried about saying goodbye to him and she said she wished she didn't have to, so I offered, and when she heard I could change him, her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree." Char beams, her newfound love for Bella evident in her words and emotions.

"Alright, well, that definitely breaks the treaty. A lot. So we'll have to leave the area and be discreet about it. We'll have to tell Charlie everything before he is turned and he'll have to quit his job and tie up any loose ends. I think he is friends with the tribal chief too, so we will definitely need a decent excuse for him to tell people, as to why he would leave.

"Maybe if we let everyone think that Charlie and Bella moved back to Phoenix to be closer to her mother? That's about the only believable thing I can think of. I don't think the Cullens ought to leave though since it would look suspicious if they left at the same time as the Swans. Especially because Bella's friends know that she has been hanging out with Edward and Alice. So I guess they all need to stay here, and we lose out on that added protection." I sigh.

"Maybe we won't need it." Charlotte reasons. "It's been decades since your last run-in with any _violent_ vampire bigots, right? Maybe most of them are dead?"

"Doubtful. But perhaps we could secure some _better_ protection for ourselves. Especially if either Charlie or Bella turns out to be gifted." I ponder.

"What would _that_ have to do with...oh! Jasper, _really_? Do you honestly think we'd be any safer in _Volterra_? Most of _those_ vampires are really, really old." Charlotte worries.

"Exactly. Too old to care about such things because they've lived through all kinds of eras throughout history and experienced a wide variety of cultures. Besides, my gift alone is desirable enough to them that Aro would probably grant protection for my whole coven. And if Bella or Charlie ends up gifted, all the better.

"Plus we would have Carlisle's endorsement and the brothers consider him a good friend. And they already know our reputation from the Southern Wars, so that oughta help. But if we go, it also gets us away from Edward. And that would mean he and Alice could get married, which they'd be thrilled about. And we wouldn't have to hide anymore. Just think, it could be wonderful for all of us," I reason.

They're both silent for a moment. "Well, you know I'm in, Jasper. I go where you go." Pete beams and I know, he'd follow me to the ends of the earth if I asked him to. I kiss him deeply and send him my gratitude as we wait for Charlotte to make a decision.

"Well, as you've said, we certainly can't stay here. And Denver isn't a wise move either. I'd like to wait and see if Bella is gifted before we decide for sure, but it might be a smart choice, given the circumstances," she shrugs.

"Cool. We'll stay here with you until Charlie gets home and help you explain things to him. After that, we'll head back to the house and let the Cullens know about Bella and that we might be leaving. Though I imagine Alice has seen at least some of that already," I offer.

"Thank you, Jasper. Your support means a lot to me." Charlotte smiles.

I send her my emotions. "You have always supported us, Charlotte, even when it wasn't always easy. Of course, we'll be here for you, now that you've found your mate.

* * *

When Charlie gets home, I hit him with a large dose of calm so that he won't freak out about seeing three strangers sitting around casually in his house.

"Umm hi, you must be friends of Bella's? Where is she at?" He questions suspiciously.

"Bella is upstairs, Charlie, but before you see her, there is something she wanted us to talk to you about." Charlotte begins and I hit him with some acceptance.

"Okay, what's up, Kids?" He nods.

"Well, Charlie, there is no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to show you," Char says, taking out her contacts. Once he is looking at her red eyes, she zooms around the room at vampire speed, rearranging furniture, so that even the couch Charlie is sitting on has moved and every piece of furniture is facing a different direction.

"What the heck?!" He asks, his eyes bugging out of his head.

"Bella wrote you a letter that explains all of this better than I could, Charlie. I just needed you to see the proof before you read it." Charlotte hands him a piece of paper which I read easily over his shoulder thanks to vampire eyesight.

_Dad,_

_Hi, it's me, Bella. If you're reading this, it means you just met Charlotte. Charlotte is a vampire, Dad. I know she showed you proof of that. But _what _she is, isn't as important as _who _she is...to me. Dad, Charlotte is what the vampire world would refer to as my Mate. Humans would say we're soulmates, but it's a little more complicated than that. _

_In short, it means that even though she and I just met, there is no one on this earth more suited to me. And as such, our souls have formed an unbreakable bond. That's why I decided to become a vampire. In fact, I'm upstairs right now undergoing that change at this very moment. You can come up and see for yourself that I'm fine, once you finish reading this._

_The reason I'm telling you all of this and not just faking my death to go off and live as a vampire is that I know you'd be devastated if I did that. And quite frankly, I just got you back, Dad, I don't want to lose you again. Not ever._

_So while I know this is a really big ask, I want you to at least consider becoming a vampire like me and joining us in immortality. Let's face it, Dad, you're not getting any younger. And I do know that if you chose to live out your life as a human, I would eventually see you again, in Heaven, so that isn't what I'm worried about. (Though, as a vampire, it might be thousands of years before I could join you there because vampires are pretty hard to kill.)_

_No, the reason I want you to consider joining us is that I hope we can still have a lot more time to bond and be a family. But as a vampire, I can't stay in the area. I have to leave soon, Dad. The Cullens have a strict treaty in place with Billy's tribe, because the tribe knows about vampires._

_Biting me, to make me into a vampire, even though it was at my request, was a violation of that treaty. So if I stay here, the tribe will have no choice but to expose our secret. And by vampire law, the penalty for a human knowing about vampires is death or transformation. _

_One human knowing about us would be easy enough to hide, especially since Alice has precognitive visions. But we couldn't protect the whole town if the tribe decides to expose us. According to Charlotte, the vampire government would sweep in, kill everyone, and blame it on a gas leak or something. I guess it's happened before. So that's why I have to leave._

_Anyway, I won't hold it against you if you decide to stay human. I know how scary it must be to even consider such a prospect as vampirism. Charlotte and the others can explain to you what all it entails so that you have all the facts to make an informed decision. For me, the choice was easy, because I want to be with Charlotte, regardless of any price I might pay for it. But that price will be a lot higher if it means losing you in the process._

_If you do decide to stay human, I promise I won't leave without saying goodbye. Just remember, I will probably be pretty feral when I wake up three days from now, as a new vampire. Because it usually takes about a year to get control of the bloodlust and all that stuff. So my apologies if I try to eat you or anything like that._

_And if by some miracle, you do decide to join us, Charlotte and the others will fill you in on what to expect and help you get everything settled._

_Whatever happens, please always remember that I love you, Daddy._

_Your Daughter Always,_

_Bella Swan_

"I, uh, holy shit. I just...need to see her. Please?" Charlie asks softly and politely when he finishes reading. It's clear that he is processing and is also suddenly aware of being a prey animal among predators.

"I'll take you upstairs." Charlotte nods and they disappear up the stairs into Bella's room.

Pete comes to join me on the couch, curling up in my lap, since they'll likely be a while. "Well, this has all been quite unexpected." He smiles.

"It sure has." I nod. "Though I'm really glad for Char's sake you decided to come to Washington," I admit.

Peter cocks an eyebrow at me. "_Just _for Char's sake?" He pouts.

"No, you silly vampire. Also for my sake, most definitely. Having you here is a dream come true," I assure him.

"Well, I would pinch you, but if it _is _a dream, I don't want us to wake up yet." He beams.

"Me neither, Pete." I grin. "Me neither."

* * *

**AN: Okay, so, next chapter, expect to see newborn Bella through Charlotte's eyes cuz we're switching POV's to give the girls some airtime ;-***


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